the president set the stage for further cooperation with china in preparation for the copenhagen conference on climate change. he discussed exchange rates and trade, clean energy, military to military exchanges, human rights, and stopping the spread of nuclear weapons. we outline the key of compliments of the visit in a joint statement issued by president obama and president hu jintao on november 17. it has been said before that in order to get china right, you have to get the region right. the united states is a vital contributor to asian security and economic prosperity. our active presence in asia helps promote regional security and stability. we intend to deepen our engagement and strengthen our leadership in the region by strengthening our commitments to allies and partners, and enhancing our involvement in regional institutions. and the secretary addressed these issues, as well as our presence in the region, in an important speech in honolulu yesterday. the president's trip to china demonstrates that fact in the region demonstrate the importance we place on east asia which remains vit